PhillyClout Team

Mayor Nutter won his primary election last night with 76 percent of the vote, the race between two relative unknowns in the Republican primary is too close to call and now here (maybe) comes former Mayor John Street charging into the field.

Street this morning said he will "seriously consider" a run as an independent in the Nov. 8 general election. He later added that this "options review" will look at runs for mayor and City Council at-large. His comments, via email, are very focused on Nutter and the 24 percent of the Democratic vote that his older brother, former state legislator T. Milton Street Sr., collected yesterday.

"I am encouraged that 1of 4 voters in a Democratic primary decided to vote for Senator Street or against the Mayor," Street wrote. "That may be a distinction without much difference but it does provide a healthy base upon which to build a campaign. Mayor Nutter has not yet created a vision for the city nor has he even come close to announcing a plan to get there.

Street criticized Nutter for his economic development and job creation efforts and especially his approach to the budget deficit at the Philadelphia School District, which is dealing with cut-backs in the state budget.

"He inappropriately lays too much blame at the door step of the Governor while he accepts little responsibility for his own failures," Street said. "I will pay close attention to the Mayor in the next 2 weeks to see if he articulates and implements a plan for our public schools."

Street, who said he will hold a news conference sometime this week, ended his email with the phrase: "This is only the beginning."